Top tips to help you bag a bargain this Christmas

The festive frenzy is fast approaching and many people are turning attention to their Christmas shopping lists.

If you want to find the best gifts at the lowest prices, but don’t want to deal with the high street crowds, then shopping online is the thing for you.

The hacks from Boom25, the website that gamifies the shopping process, will ensure you get the best deals online, so you can put your feet up and know the whole family will be happy on Christmas morning - plus you’ll have fun while you’re at it.

Clear your cookies

This is crucial if you regularly shop online. Brands often hike up prices the more times you frequent the site. Cookies are pieces of information that store the details of your web browsing, so deleting those effectively deletes your search, so you won’t get inflated prices. To clear your cookies, go to your browser preferences or settings and click on ‘clear history and website data’.

Negotiate your price via online chat box

Retailers often offer a live chat service so customers can get immediate answers. Live chatting to the company via the chat box can be key to bagging yourself a discount. Plus, it’s less awkward than doing it in person.

Bookmark your favourite brands

Ensure you bookmark your favourite brands, so you can easily revisit them. Boom25, provides a refund to every 25th shopper on their purchase no matter the value. Shop at over 500 of the UK’s favourite online retailers including Boohoo, Currys PC World, M&S and Argos. There’s no risk and no extra cost, so you have nothing to lose. The key is remembering to login to Boom25 before you start your shopping.

Leave items in your shopping cart

When online window shopping, try leaving items you plan to buy in your shopping basket. Retailers want to close a sale so will often monitor this, and occasionally they will get in touch to offer a discount.

Shop on the right day

Although the thought of spending a Sunday afternoon online shopping might sound tempting, most retailers launch discounts and special deals during the week. Prices can be cheaper at the start of the week and tend to creep up over the weekend. Boom25 partners with its retailers to offer special promotional days. For example, rather than having the usual 1:25 chance of receiving a refund, the odds might be a lot better on certain days.

Get ready for your shopping spree by signing up to all of your favourite online shops. You can then keep up to date on deals before the general public sees them. Some brands even give a discount for just signing up to the mailing list alone.

Take advantage of social media

Follow your favourite brands on Facebook and Twitter as quite regularly they will announce a sale before it hits the website, or even better, release an exclusive promotional code specific for that platform. Also, try following bloggers for special offers, as they often find out before the general public.

Boom25 launched in July this year and already has over 500 retailers on board, including Boohoo, Just East, M&S, Expedia and Argos. Refunds have been awarded to 3,976 people, with the record win being £149,160 – the CEO has ambitions to give away £1 million by the end of this year.